This Week’s Creature Feature ... New at the Zoos

Baby warthogs, prairie dog pups, small-clawed otters and zebra foals

By Sandra Olivetti Martin

Yes, panda infertility is a problem. But while we’re waiting for the experts to solve it, plenty of other babies are looking adorable in our regional zoos.
At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo (nationalzoo.si.edu), a new family of Asian small-clawed otters (Amblonyx cinereus) is making up for Mei Xiang and Tian Tian’s cublessness. Eleven otters — two parents and two litters of their offspring — are happily playing, swimming, foraging for bugs, catching prey and basking in the sun.
At the The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (www.marylandzoo.org) four common warthog piglets were born April 4 to Kumari and Kijani, the Zoo’s warthog pair. On warm days, you can see mother and piglets outside from 11am until 1pm daily. The daddy, Kijani, comes out in the afternoon.
New prairie dog pups are emerging from the underground dens where they were born seven weeks ago. See them in Prairie Dog Town at the entrance to the zoo. Stella and Phoenix, nine-month-old zebra foals, have come to live at the zoo. While they’re getting to know the other female zebras, they come out on their own from 11am until 1pm each day. Eventually the girls will share the Watering Hole with other zebras plus ostriches and rhinos.